Raised lateral patch clamp array

A novel lateral patch-clamp array with cell trapping locations raised above the substrate was fabricated by integration of macro-machining and soft lithography technology. The device is made of PDMS (Poly-Di-Methyl-Siloxane) and is composed of four compartments: multiple lateral patch openings "raised" above the bottom of the glass slide at a pre-determined distance, an open chamber machined by a hole-puncher for fluidic access, multiple microfluidic channels to introduce cells and reagents to the patch openings, and several microfluidic channels as electrical ground for patch clamp recording. Size of the patch openings were 2/spl mu/m/spl times/2/spl mu/m. Seal resistances over 350MO were measured consistently. The device is capable of conducting whole-cell patch-clamp experiments at lower cost and higher throughput.